Child
by Kreepi Spicer
Summary: Oneshot. She thought he'd never see her as anything more than a child.


-1Love. In Hermione Granger's opinion, it was something that one should never get mixed up in. It was a drug that's powerful, euphoric feeling was only the beginning of one's downfall. When one was at the height of the overwhelming sensation that love creates, pain sets in; pain cause by someone else. Yet one only felt pain if the love the felt lasted for a short time. If the love lasted for an extended period of time, to the point where one couldn't remember life prior to the emotion, then there was no pain, no sorrow, no agony. Only a hollow being was left, unfeeling and oblivious to much of what happens to them in their surroundings. Eventually though, life does pick up, and carries on.

Throughout her life, Hermione had loved two men, and both at once. She never tried anything before. One hated her, while the other would never see her as anything but a child. The only thing the two men had in common was that both of them had their reputations, neither of them so great.

_Maybe I __should__ have told him first,_ Hermione thought. _At least he wouldn't have been so cruel. At least he would've shown some compassion._

Before Hermione left for Scotland, she left a note telling him she loved him, that she always had. It told him about what Draco had said to her, and what she was driven to do. She apologized profusely, and stated that she understood that he wasn't ever going to love her, so nothing would be lost.

A soft breeze caressed her tear-stained cheek as she gazed softly up to the sky. The overcast of clouds seemed to signify her emotions clearly. Slowly, she turned her head downwards, staring down the side of the cliff. Any minute now, her watch would ring at 2:30, and she would plunge into the abyss.

Few thoughts ran through her head. The last through she had had was that she should've been in Ravenclaw. At least _they_ weren't credited with bravery.

She glanced at her watch. 10 more seconds, and everything would be over. _I can finally be happy._ She smiled at the thought.

The seconds ticked by. She barely heard the sound of her watch beeping at 2:30. She bent her knees, preparing to spring, a peaceful grin plastered to her face. The grin, however, disappeared as she was pushed to the right and collided with the solid ground.

"Ow!" She had her eyes tightly shut. She knew who she wanted it to be, but she refused to be disappointed. He wouldn't come to stop me. He had no reason to. As hard as she tried to not use the last bit of hope in her body, she did, hoping that it was him who had saved her.

"Hermione," choked out a voice. A voice she loved so much. "What the hell are you doing?!"

It was him. She slowly opened her lovely brown eyes to see terrified ones gazing back at her. "Sirius?"

He sighed, obviously relieved. He collapsed on the ground beside her, and gently wrapped his arms around her slim body. She was extremely shocked by this, but pleasantly soothed as well. All thoughts of attempting suicide again were absent from her mind as she listened to him breathe uneasily against her cheek.

"Hermione," his rough, but somehow angelic voice said, "Hermione, why would you even think about this?"

It was almost a laughable question. "Because you were going to do the same. Why go through that twice?"

She felt him stiffen next to her. He slowly removed his arm from underneath her and hoisted himself up so he was looking directly down at her face. "How would you know?"

Another question to chuckle at. "I'm a child in everyone else's eyes. Who could love a _child_ in that way?"

His eyes seemed to soften more by her remark. He leaned his head towards her and kissed her lightly. Instant warmth spread through her body as she responded with her lips, just as tenderly. After a moment, he moved his mouth towards her ear and whispered, "You were always out of my reach, _never_ the other way around." He lowered his body back down next to hers, waiting for the words to sink in.

Hermione could barely comprehend what he meant. There wasn't even a chance that he meant . . . no. He didn't have any meaning in that statement at all. As if reading her mind, he turned onto his side and said, "I love you."

These three words, simple as they might've been, completely removed the pain Draco had caused. The cold was replaced by warmth and joy and almost instantly her eyes regained life.

"Sirius?"  
"Yes?"  
"Let's go home."

He stood up, patted the dirt off his pants and offered a hand to the with he loved most.

(-)

A/N: Oh wow, Kreepi did a fanfic! Took me forever, huh? Don't be expecting this often, I'm still not into writing as much as I once was. I was recently cheated on, and this fanfic popped into my head, and I thought that it was the best idea I'd had in a while . . . made me feel a lot better. Well, read and review!


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